Once again, the proposed Forest Creek development is heading to court, only this time, it’s the developer who initiated the litigation.
James W. Kelley, the managing member of Forest Creek, filed a lawsuit against Harold “Hal” Snowden Jr. and Clay M. Corman on Friday, Jan. 27, alleging the two men “negatively affected real property owned by Forest Creek,” the lawsuit read.
The lawsuit alleges that Snowden, Corman and possible unknown defendants — the identities of whom are presently unknown to Forest Creek — hurt Kelley’s venture since the project was first proposed in 2006. Since the first proposal, Snowden filed four lawsuits against the development, all of which were eventually dismissed by Jessamine Circuit Judge Hunter Daugherty, according to Kelley’s lawsuit.
The Forest Creek project, which has also been referred to in the past as Forest Brook, consists of more than 400 acres off Harrodsburg Road that would include 661 housing units and a Jack Nicklaus signature golf course.
The lawsuit alleges that between 2005 and 2006, “Snowden and Corman and possible unknown defendants formed a civil conspiracy and agreed to work in concert to improperly and tortiously impede the process of the annexation and rezoning sought by Forest Creek.”
The lawsuit goes on to read that Snowden and Corman and possibly unknown defendants cooked up the conspiracy with the intent to damage the efforts of the development to the financial advantage of the defendants.
The lawsuit also claims that during “Snowden’s deposition, taken in the 2011 litigation on May 16, 2011, June 6, 2011, and June 24, 2011, that the true facts concerning the civil conspiracy first became known to Forest Creek.”
It alleges that Snowden, possibly aided by Corman, did illegally and willfully commit perjury during his sworn testimony taken during the second litigation in 2006.
“It was during his deposition taken in (the second 2006 lawsuit) on June 5, 2007, that Snowden committed said perjury, in an effort to conceal the existence of the civil conspiracy, by stating the he (Snowden) was solely in charge of decision making regarding settlement of the second 2006 litigation and that he had received no contribution from any source toward attorney fees incurred in that litigation,” the lawsuit read.
The lawsuit indicates that Corman designated the attorney Snowden used for the two litigations in 2006 and the 2007 litigation.
Because of the conspiracy, “Forest Creek has suffered and will continue in the future to suffer damages,” the lawsuit read.
The lawsuit also contends that Snowden and Corman were aware that the development had entered into a business relationship with Nicklaus Design, and their actions hindered the project with the purpose of damaging that business relationship.
Kelley is demanding a jury trial and is seeking compensatory damages, past, present and future for the civil conspiracy; compensatory damages for abuse of process; compensatory damages for malicious prosecution, compensatory damages past, present and future, for tortious interference with business relationships; compensatory damages for past, present and future conversion; compensatory damages, past, present and future and punitive damages; an award for post-judgment interest, at the prevailing legal rate, on all amounts due and owing Forest Creek from the date of judgement until paid in full; and attorney fees and for any and all relief to which Forest Creek may be entitled.
Snowden declined to talk about the lawsuit.
“No, I don’t have any comment,” he said. “I’ve just turned it over to my attorney, and I will let them take it from there.”
Phone calls made to Corman Tuesday afternoon seeking comment were not answered.
